COVID-19 vaccine decision-making in remote Alaska between November 2020 and November 2021

Figures & data

Figure 1. Timeline of surveys and semi-structured interviews (SSI-1, SSI-2, and SSI-3).

Table 1. Population Characteristics of Interviewees (N = 58).

Demographic	Number of participants	%
Gender
Male	19	32%
Female	36	62%
Non-binary	3	5%
Age
18–24	4	7%
25–54	35	61%
55–65	6	11%
65+	12	21%
Race
African American	3	5%
Alaska Native or American Indian	32	55%
Asian	0	0
White	17	29%
Latino	0	0
Pacific Islander/Native Hawaiian	0	0
More than one race	6	11%
Education
8th grade or less	0	0
Did not finish high school	2	3%
High school or GED	2	3%
Some college, Associate’s, or vocational program	30	52%
College degree, post-graduate, or professional school	24	41%
Annual Income
<$10,000	9	16%
$10,000–$29,999	15	26%
$30,000–$49,999	11	19%
$50,000–$69,999	6	11%
$70,000–$89,999	8	14%
$90,000 and over	9	16%
Employment
Working (full-time, year-round)	30	52%
Working (part-time, year-round)	6	10%
Seasonal employment	2	3%
Unemployed (not due to COVID-19)	5	9%
Laid off or looking for work due to COVID-19	4	7%
Unable to work due to disability	4	7%
Homemaker	1	2%
Retired	4	7%
Student	1	2%

Note: *Two participants provided no answer for Age and Employment.

Table 2. Vaccination intention and status, survey versus interview responses among 34 interviewees who were unvaccinated at the time of the survey.

Survey: Do you plan to receive a vaccine? (n, % of interviewees)	Interview: Are you vaccinated?
	Yes, vaccinated	No change, not fully vaccinated*	% change
Low intention (12, 21%)	4	8	33%
Deliberating (13, 22%)	8	5	62%
High intention (9, 16%)	9	0	100%
TOTALS (N = 34)	21	13	62%

Note: *Table does not include 24 interviewees who were vaccinated at the time they took the online survey.

Table 3. Interviewee concerns related to getting a COVID-19 vaccine (n = 58).

Concerns	#	%	Definition/Example
Safety	33	57%
Potential side effects	25	43%	Concerns related to potential side effects, including vulnerability while pregnant and/or breastfeeding, side effects for kids
Process-related: rushed production	15	26%	Concerns related to quick development timeline (“rushed production”, “it’s in the experimental stage”), desire for more research, new technology
Vaccine might give you COVID-19	1	2%
Distrust	13	22%	Distrust in producers, political-economic motivations
Efficacy	7	12%	Uncertain/concerned about whether the shots work, and for how long
Spiritual: religion and body purity	7	12%	Concerned about introducing foreign substances into body
Unspecified	6	10%
No concerns	21	36%	Interviewee had no concerns, in either survey or interview
Total interviews coded	58	100%

Note: Codes are not mutually exclusive; segments may be coded with multiple codes.

Table 4. Information sources interviewees used to decide whether to get a COVID-19 vaccine (n = 58).

Source of information	#	%
Media	29	50%
Social Media & Internet	18	31%
News	13	22%
Science Articles & Reports	4	7%
Radio	4	7%
Interpersonal interactions	30	52%
Healthcare providers	9	16%
Family & Friends	7	12%
Professional network	5	9%
Elders, Historical Memory	2	3%
“Word of mouth”	2	3%
Public Presentations & Advertising	13	22%
Independent Research (unspecified)	11	19%
Missing/Unclear	6	10%
Interviews coded	58	100%

Note: Codes are not mutually exclusive; segments may be coded with multiple codes.

Table 5. Facilitators to accepting a COVID-19 vaccine.

Theme	#	%*
Trust in information and source	20	48%
Trust in science (regardless of understanding)*	9
Being able to ask questions of public health leaders, healthcare providers (non-family/friends)	4
“Independent research”	4
Others’ experiences	12	29%
Pictures and stories of others’ experiences, including political leaders and celebrities	5
Family and friends’ experiences	8
Historical memory of prior infectious outbreaks/pandemics	3
Personal experiences	11	26%
Positive environment where received shot	3
Prior familiarity with shots	8
Vaccine efficacy	2	5%
Total interviews coded**	42	72%

Note: Codes are not mutually exclusive; segments may be coded with multiple codes.

Results represent % of total interviews coded (n = 42, 72% of all interviews).

Table 6. Vaccinated interviewees’ motivations behind decision to get a COVID-19 vaccination (N = 39).

Category	Why got/will get vaccinated	N	% Vaccinated interviewees*
Individual		31	79%
	To lower own risk (infection, severe disease, death)	20
	Freedom (including desire to travel and work)	14
	Emotional wellbeing (to feel safe)	3
Interpersonal		17	44%
	To protect others: kids, Elders, vulnerable household members, community	6
Structural/Institutional		15	38%
	Required (real, perceived, or anticipated requirement for work, travel, other)	4
	Incentives	1
	“It was free”	2
Total interviews coded*		39	67%

Note: *38 of the 44 vaccinated interviewees respondent to the query of “why” they got vaccinated, and one unvaccinated high-intention mother described why she planned to complete her shots after giving birth. Results therefore represent 39 (67%) of all interviews.

*Codes are not mutually exclusive; segments may be coded with multiple codes.